Basically, we have a pair of isekai shows on our hands. Are they any good? The magic 8-ball says not to get your hopes up.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s
I wrote this show off at a glance, ’cause y’know, it’s yet another isekai with a protagonist who will probably wipe the floor with every foe he fights. Color me surprised when I clicked on the first episode and found out it already has a dub. Oh ho, so they expect this show to be popular, do they? The production values are juiced too, courtesy of Sunrise. So does this mean that this anime is actually quality. Ehhh, let’s not be too hasty.
It just shocks me how cookie cutter these stories are. The entire class gets summoned, and everyone is immediately assigned a class or role. The protagonist is naturally never the Hero with a capital H. He may or may not get shitty skills. He may or may not be a background mob character or just plain unpopular. He may or may not get betrayed, but this usually happens. On the other hand, there’s always a popular guy who is the Hero with a capital H. He may or may not be overly righteous and/or arrogant. But what’s certain is that the protagonist will eventually humiliate this guy before the series is over. Hell, the title of our show is all about how our protagonist is already superior to the Hero. Were light novel authors picked on in school by the popular kid or something? Do they harbor a deep inferiority complex and their school experiences continue to live rent free in their heads? Because every story they write is like this. Every story they write is about showing up a classmate. You good, bro? You wanna talk about it? Or is this just a kink?
Anyways, Akira is that background mob who is a geek for isekai light novels. Basically, he has terrible taste, but at least he’s genre savvy? Luckily, he doesn’t get shitty skills. Instead, he’s already overpowered right from the start. Okay, sure. It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if the MC gets shitty skills, they’ll end up OP. Think Failure Frame or Arifureta. This shit is all the same. Is there anything that sets Akira apart from other similar protagonists? Eh. Like the title suggests, he’s an assassin but with a twist: he won’t kill. We’ll see if he sticks to that.
There’s no evil goddess this time around to betray the MC, but we do get a king who is up to no good. Every single kid embraces the scenario. No one crashes out or anything even though they’ve been snatched from their world away from their families. They just happy train to fight the demon king even though they might lose their life. I mean, if you’re gonna be cookie cutter, at least give me someone to relate to. Where’s the dude who’s a quivering mess because they don’t want to die? Where the kid who’s mad that they can’t see their loved ones? Why does everyone just accept their fate?
After their training is complete, the kids head to a dungeon to prove themselves, then disaster happens. For some reason, the king wants the kids dead in the dungeon, so the hero unknowingly summons a giant minotaur from an item that was supposed to help them escape. Sure enough, the designated Hero can’t actually save the day, which forces Akira to take over. The Hero then crashes out, because “it was supposed to be me!!!!” Humiliation already achieved, but I’m sure this is just the start of many similar such defeats for the Hero. And that’s where the first episode leaves off.
So what’s next? Well, if you’ve watched one of these shows, you’ve watched them all. What’s next is meeting the waifu. Maybe she’s deeper in the dungeon or whatever. The only thing that really sets this show apart is that Sunrise is helping it look nice. Otherwise, watching the first episode felt like déjà vu.
Dad is a hero, Mom is a spirit, I’m a reincarnator
The hero saved the world from a horde of monsters and was supposed to succumb to his injuries. Luckily, he was saved by the Ori, the Spirit Queen. She took him to the spirit world where he quickly recuperated. They banged, had a kid, then lived happily ever after. The end. Well, that’s where my story would end if I was in Rovel’s shoes. But for some reason, he needs to return home ten whole years later in order to clean up “his mess.” Y’see, his family became nobles due to his heroics, but that also meant his younger brother had to marry Princess Agiel, who is just the worst. She’s so terrible that the family is almost in financial ruins. It’s up to Rovel to save the day again.
I don’t get it. I really don’t. Why is Rovel the only person who can stand up to this woman? Why is it even his fault that they all lack a backbone? Is it really that hard to stop her from spending? If it were me, I’d be like Rovel too. Why the hell would I involve myself in my family’s problems? And sure, it’s a bit cold to never see your family again. If you’re alive, you could at least send them a letter or two. But even Rovel acts as if Agiel is the most devious, manipulative woman alive — as if she can somehow clap you in bonds and make you do whatever she wants. As a result, the first thing he does before returning home is make his marriage to Ori official in the human world. Oh, they’ve already gotten married in the spirit world, but let’s do it again. Why? Because Agiel can somehow trick or force him into marrying her, I guess. Again, I don’t get it.
I also find it funny how this first episode is all about the father. We’ve barely even talked about Ellen, the half-spirit daughter who has the ability to conjure up anything she wants. How? Because she was a Japanese scientist in her previous life, so uh… that means she’s got expert knowledge on the periodic table. Yeah, sure, that makes sense. But like I said, she plays a rather supportive role at the moment. First, she scolds her father for avoiding his family. Fair? Eh. I don’t really agree, but whatever. I can’t talk ’cause I’m not really family-oriented to begin with. Ellen then makes her parents a pair of rings to celebrate their second wedding. But after that, it’s back to the Rovel show, who returns home to find an obese Agiel. She thinks he’s here to finally marry her. Once again, beauty is normative, i.e. if you’re ugly, you might as well be evil.
Since this is supposed to be a show about Ellen’s exploits, I feel as though the story hasn’t really started. I can’t really say if I want to keep watching this show or not, y’know? How can I figure out if I’m interested in what’s to come when our heroine is still standing on the sidelines? I dunno, maybe her father will need her help with Agiel in next week’s episode.
